Identification of susceptibility loci for cognitive impairment in a cohort of Han Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. Identifying PD cognitive impairment (PDCI) in the early stage will help slow or prevent PD dementia. Susceptibility loci for PDCI are inconsistent in different studies. The aim of this study is to determine susceptibility loci for PDCI in the Han Chinese population. A total of 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with PDCI were genotyped by Massarray system and Sanger sequencing in 158 PD patients and 275 healthy controls. Two SNPs (rs34778348 in LRRK2, rs78973108 in GBA) had different genotype distribution between PD and controls. None of risk SNPs was identified between PDCI and PD with normal cognition (PDNC). Aging and high Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score were the independent risk factors for PDCI, rather than sex and SNPs. Our study showed that none of risk SNPs was identified to be significantly associated with cognitive decline of PD patients, indicating the effect of susceptibility loci on PDCI is subtle in the Han Chinese population.